The promotion has announced that Art Davie will be inducted into
its “Contributor Wing” on July 5 as part of the UFC’s annual
International Fight Week, which will be headlined by UFC 226.

“Art’s contributions to UFC helped lay the foundation for the sport
that fans around the world see today,” UFC President Dana White
said. “It’s an honor to induct Art into the UFC Hall of Fame class
of 2018 and we look forward to celebrating his career at our
ceremony in July.”

Without Art Davie there might not be an
Ultimate Fighting Championship. After being inspired by the
famed “Gracie in Action” videos of the late 1980s, Davie approached
Rorion Gracie with the idea to air a style vs. style tournament on
pay-per-view. After finding a PPV company willing to air their
show, Davie and Gracie put together UFC 1, which would be won by
Rorion Gracie’s younger brother, Royce.

“Being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame is the greatest honor
that can be bestowed to anyone involved with the sport of mixed
martial arts,” Davie said. “Watching UFC become mainstream and
break all these records over the years has been like watching my
child go out and conquer the world. I’m so proud of what UFC has
become and I’m thrilled my part in its creation is being celebrated
during its 25th anniversary.”

Davie and Gracie would sell their ownership to SEG, but Davie would
remain a pivotal part of the organization until 1997 when he left
the company. Davie can be credited largely for his deeply important
role in the early development of mixed martial arts, but it wasn’t
until he left the UFC, the era of stricter regulation and the
eventual Zuffa ownership that the UFC would become a mainstream
success story.